Horizon
by Kitsune94
Summary: I always thought I knew what I’d signed up for...but there was one thing that wasn’t included in the job description...That fateful omission was falling completely and irrevocably in love with John Sheppard. Shepp x Male OC. SLASH Full summary inside! XX
1. I don't think we're in Colorado anymore!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Stargate Atlantis or Stargate SG-1 (thought I wish I did) and I do not own any of the show's characters (Carter, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon etc…) and I don't care if you use any characters I have created either.

**Full Summary: **I always thought I knew what I'd signed up for when I decided to lead a team in the Pegasus galaxy; evil life sucking aliens, mutated viruses, Ancient machines and the occasional movie night and popcorn fest. I'd signed up for all of those things, but there was one thing that wasn't included in the job description. That fateful omission was falling completely and irrevocably in love with John Sheppard.

**A/N: **Okay, so this is my lame attempt at trying to write an original Shep/OC (male) fic. I've had the idea for this in my head for ages but you know, am only bothering writing it now. Its Slash so, beware (:heart:) If you don't like slash you can do 3 three things: **1.** Exit your browser now. **2.** Read it then not really care or **3**. Read through suffering, flame and watch me not care! Well, anyway, read and enjoy… or not enjoy? Criticism is welcome and so is praise (:heart:) but ON WITH THE MAIN EVENT!

**Chapter 1:** Carter, I don't think we're in Colorado anymore!

I groaned as I attempted to pack my entire life into two 40 litre duffle bags. '_Hmm, Elmo or cookie monster pyjamas?'_ I thought to myself. I decided to go with Elmo as us red-heads had to stick together. Yep, that's me: 6'0" slim and muscular with shoulder length, messy copper hair. I brushed a stray bang of hair behind my ear and shoved my toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash hastily into the side pocket of my duffle. I started zipping my bags when I heard Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman's voice boom over the PA of SGC (also known as the Cheyenne Mountain Complex).

"All travellers outbound to the Pegasus galaxy are required for de-briefing by Gen. Landry at 1430 hours." I checked my casio diver's watch: 1357. _Okay, still another 30 minutes till de-breifing; guess I'll meet up with the team_. By team, I of course mean SG-4 consisting of myself, Lt. Col. Matthew Stark, the charming leader of the team (with a PhD in Psychology to boot), Maj. Alesha Vega, the resident expert in weapons, Maj. Perry White, a stunning blonde with a PhD in Astrophysics, Math and Computer Programming and Dr. Stephanie Meyers, the team medic and physician. My team had been hand selected to carry out a re-supply to the Atlantis. However, the supplies we are delivering are not your average protein bars and triple strength instant coffee. Not in the slightest actually. We are delivering two fully functional and fully powered ZPM's to the grand City of the Ancients.

The reason for this unusual supply mission was due to the fact that the _Phoenix_ (the newest Daedlus-class Battle crusier) discovered an abandoned _Aurora_-class Ancient Battleship floating dangerously closely to the massive gravitational pull of a black hole. The crew of the _Phoenix_ sent a team over to the ship to pilot it away from the dangerous singularity. Once the ship, named the _Horizon_, had been manoeuvred to safety, the team discovered that the _Horizon_ was, while a powerful battleship was on a resupply mission from a base in the Milky Way to Lantea in order to deliver vital resources to defeat the Wraith. Onboard the ship was 3 fully charged ZPM's, a massive stock of drones that could replenish Atlantis 3 times over (including Puddle Jumpers) and some newly designed Mini-Drone Launchers (nicknamed as MDL's by the "scientists" at Area 51). So, anyway, along with Alesha, Perry and Stephanie, I will be travelling to another galaxy to face evil aliens that suck life from humans. Joy!

"Hey Colonel; Packed yet or are you still mulling over whether or not to bring your Elmo jammies?" Alesha popped her head round the corner into my room and snickered to herself as she remembered the night we had a movie marathon at Perry's house.

"I'm packed thanks, Lesh. You all set?" I asked the mahogany haired women. She flopped onto my bed and nodded. "Yeah, but how are we really supposed our entire lives into 2 bags?" I chuckled to myself and threw my last bag at the door. "The real reason is because the Air Force is cheap; they don't want to pay any more than they have to for our personal wellbeing." Alesha smiled at me as I sat on the bed next to her. She dropped her head onto my lap and I slowed ran my fingers through her soft, silky hair. She snuggled close to my chest so I gave her a quick kiss on the head and pushed her up. Her slim form jumped up from the bed and skipped out of the room but not before giving a soft smile. I peered out of the door frame and saw her vanish around the corner. _Probably on the way to see Landry as well._ I sighed again and picked up my two bags. I walked slowly down the corridor towards the elevator around the corner. _My last time here for who knows long. Take it in while you can! _I muttered to myself mentally. I reached the elevator and nudged the call button with my elbow. I waited about 30 seconds before the bell dinged and the doors whooshed open. I hobbled into the lift and nudged the "Level 28" quickly with my wrist. The doors whooshed shut and the lift began its descent. 16,17,18…27,28: ding! The bell chimed and I once again hobbled out of the elevator and started to make my way to the control room. A pushy sergeant by the name of Andrews asked for my bags so he could put them with the rest of the luggage to be transported to the Pegasus Galaxy. I gave in and handed my bags to the chipper Sergeant.

I walked into the control room and greeted the technicians with a few nods and hand waves before making my way up the spiral stair case to the briefing room. I heard voices in the briefing room above me so I jumped two steps at time to reach the top. I stepped into the room to find Alesha, Perry and Stephinie chatting to each other around the coffee machine.

"Colonel!" Alesha quickly spun around and stood attention. Perry joined her but Steph just smiled at me and gave a quick wave.

"At ease, majors. Is Gen. Landry almost ready for us? We've gotta depart in 15 minutes." I calmed the Majors while I pulled a chair from underneath the conference table. I was about to take a seat when General Hank Landry open the door from his office and walked briskly into the room. I immediately shot to attention, with Majors Alesha and Perry joining me.

"At ease Colonel, Majors." Gen. Landry said. We nodded and all sat down around the large conference table. He dropped the mission file before he looked up at us. "Well, you all know why you're here so let's just get it over with. Colonel Stark, is your team ready to deliver the ZPM's to Atlantis? And are you all sure you know what you're getting into?" He asked us very sincerely as once you sign up for placement in Atlantis; you have to wait up to 6 months to file for re-assignment. Everyone at the table nodded sincerely towards the General. "Well, thats good. The _Horizon_ is scheduled to leave in 30 minutes and we're dialling the gate directly to Atlantis in 5. If you have any second thoughts, I suggest you get them out of your system now." The general stood as he pushed his chair out from the desk. Alesha, Perry and I quickly stood at attention as the General made is way down the stairs to the control room. We all followed him down to but departed company to make our way to the gate room.

He reached the gate room blast doors where three soldiers passed us our combat vests and P-90's. I clipped my weapon to my chest and noticed the Atlantis Command badge of my shoulder. I smiled as I realised I wasn't leaving behind my beloved Stargate Command but joining a new team, and a new family. The usual Stargate alarm started to blare through the speakers as the inner track of the gate unlocked and started to spin.

"Ready to go, Colonel?" Perry appeared at my side._ Chevron on encoded._ I smiled and nodded at her. "Okay, lead the way boss!" I chuckled to myself as I walked over the Alesha, Stephinie and the pile of gear we were transporting. _Chevron 2 encoded._ "Well team, we're off to another planet in another galaxy. We'll be fighting life sucking aliens and curing life threatening diseases." I spoke clearly and calmly to my team, trying to prepare them for what was on the other side of the stargate. _Chevron 3 encoded._

"So, sir, pretty much nothing out of the ordinary?" Perry remarked sarcastically and the team started to laugh. _Chevron 4 encoded._ "Yes, Major, nothing out of the ordinary. Now, I want you all to be on your best behaviour children. Don't go picking fights with other kids!" _Chevron 5 encoded. _We all laughed again amongst ourselves as we collected up our gear. I carried 2 duffles in one hand and the long awaited ZPM in the other. On my back was a pack filled to the brim with decadant dark chocolate. _'What? I can't survive without _some_ pleasures!'_ Major Vega was carrying 2 duffles as well and the other ZPM. _Chevron 6 encoded._ Perry was hauling a case with 2 new Mark III Naquadah generators and an esky with 40 Litres of Chocolate obsession ice-cream inside. Stephanie was carrying 4 duffles and a bag on her packed filled with hard drives which had been uploaded with hundreds of movies. _Chevron 7 encoded._

I hauled myself to the bottom of the ramp where I would embark on my new journey (to another galaxy). My team members joined me on the ramp as we waited for the final symbol (Point of origin: Earth) to reach the top of the massive ring. The symbol finally reached the highest chevron which seemed like forever. The chevron clamped the symbol then the light on the chevron glowed. Harriman's voice boomed over the loudspeaker. "Chevron 8 is locked." I watched as the unstable vortex of the wormhole formed. It arched out in front me, the unstable water-like substance only 1 meter from my nose. It then retreated until the event horizon was fully formed and complete. General Landry leaned over the microphone.

"SG-4, good luck. Ask Colonel Carter to check-in in 12 hours for the full update on the ZPM front. Godspeed." General Landry stepped away from the microphone and nodded firmly towards me. I took one more look around the gate room I wouldn't see for another who knows how many years. I sighed and pressed forward. "SG-4, move out!" I shouted the order to my team and we all started to jog towards our new destiny. I stood to the side as Alesha, Stephanie and finally Perry passed through the event horizon. I looked over at General Landry and gave him a quick nod before I stepped into the blue pool of unknown-fate.


	2. Sheppard, John Sheppard

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Stargate Atlantis or Stargate SG-1 (thought I wish I did) and I do not own any of the show's characters (Carter, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon etc…) and I don't care if you use any characters I have created either.

**Full Summary: **I always thought I knew what I'd signed up for when I decided to lead a team in the Pegasus galaxy; evil life sucking aliens, mutated viruses, Ancient machines and the occasional movie night and popcorn fest. I'd signed up for all of those things, but there was one thing that wasn't included in the job description. That fateful omission was falling completely and irrevocably in love with John Sheppard.

**A/N:** Chapter 2, as promised. I wrote 9 pages but decided to cut it to 4. The other five pages I'm working on now, new chapter in a few days. My holidays are in 3 days so I'll write a lot then. Love you all! Review me and I'll write quick!

**Chapter 2:** Sheppard… John Sheppard.

I stepped out of the gate and was suddenly overcome in pure awe at my surroundings. There was beautiful architecture as far as the eye could see extended around the room; tall, intricate colonnades where everywhere around the gate room. I scanned the room a final time to soak in the details before I spotted Colonel Carter waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. She smiled warmly as I quickly jogged over to her, "Matthew! Long time no see! Haven't seen you in over year." Carter threw her arms around me and gave a light squeeze. "I hear you've been well."

"Hi, Sam. Yeah, I have. Look at you, though! Commander of a secret base, not only on another planet but in another galaxy!" I exclaimed as she shook her head humbly.

"No, no. I'm just honoured that the oh-so-charming IOA have let me work here. It's fantastic; the place, the people. Even the food isn't too bad!" We laughed together as she made the last remark, "But, enough of that. Let me show you around our fabulous city." She gestured for me to follow her. We walked up the stairs and to the right where we encountered a small welcoming party. Dr. Rodney McKay, Dr. Radek Zelenka, Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex were all waiting patiently in front of the main control area. Sam began the introductions.

"Umm, well everyone this is Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Stark. He'll be assuming the role of Assistant Military Commander here on Atlantis, underneath Colonel Sheppard. Colonel, this is Dr. McKay, Dr. Zelenka, Teyla and Ronon." Sam made a point of gesturing towards each member of the expedition. I greeted them all with a firm handshake before introduce myself.

"Err, well thanks, Sam. So yeah. I've heard nothing but great things about all of you and I'm going to look forward to working with all of you." I tried my hardest to sound confident about my statement but something about them made me nervous. They had all been working together for 4+ years. They already had bonds with each other and with the rest of the expedition. To them, I was an outsider.

"Yes, well, as much _fun_ as these introductions are, I believe you've got my ZPM?" McKay commented as he tapped the ground and rolled his eyes.

"Oh right! Here you are, Doctor." I passed the bulky steel case to McKay who eyed it greedily. "I'll get you the other one too." I said as I turned around to locate Alesha. I saw her in the corner of the gate room flirting with 3 marines who seemed wrapped around her little finger. I rolled my eyes at the thought: we just travelled millions of light years to another galaxy and the first thing she does is grab a few boyfriends. "Vega! ZPM! Up here 30 seconds ago!" I shouted towards the Major. She winked at the marines before logging up the stairs and into the control room, ZPM case in hand.

"Here you are, sir. No need to get antsy" Alesha passed me the ZPM and gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder. I stared her down but she just laughed and logged back down the stairs to pick her bags up and find her room. "Anyway, here you are, Zelenka." Zelenka gratefully took the ZPM as rushed to catch up with McKay who was already on the way to the ZPM room.

"Hmm, John was supposed to meet your team 10 minutes ago. I wonder where he is…" Carter commented as she tapped her earpiece. "Colonel Sheppard, its Colonel Carter. Please come in. You were supposed to report to the control room 10 minutes ago to greet the new team from the SGC." Carter paused for about 10 seconds until the relaxed voice of John Sheppard sounded from Sam's earpiece.

"Sorry, Colonel, I slept in. I'm almost at the transporter and I'll be there in 2 minutes." Carter sighed.

"Come on, Colonel. We'll meet him at the transporter." Sam rolled her eyes and gestured for me to follow her. I nodded and we walked past the technicians in the control room and down a flight of stairs. We walked through a long corridor until we reached a small kind-of lobby that branched off into another 2 corridors. Directly in front of myself and Sam were the crafted doors of the transporter. We heard a familiar 'whoosh' and the doors swished open. The dark haired figure turned to face us. My heart skipped a beat as the ruggedly handsome Sheppard walked out of the transporter. This was the first time I've seen him in over 6 years. His face was perfectly shaped; the ridges of his eyebrows, the wrinkles on his temple, the curve of his mouth. His messy black hair stuck up in every way on his head. His sculpted lower arms fell loosely by his side. I could see his thick, tight muscular chest beneath his standard issue Atlantis military shirt. My body quivered in yearning but I held back the urge to press my lips slowly and warmly up against his.

"Well, Stark! Good to see you again." He extended his hand towards me and I grasped it firmly. He gave a kind of crooked smile which I took as a sign he approved of me. Carter also smiled as she noticed that he liked his new assistant. "So, I hear we've got ourselves 3 fully functioning ZPM's now?" Sheppard queried. I nodded.

"Yeah, that's right. The _Aurora_-class ship we found, the _Horizon_, had 3 ZPM's onboard. With the destruction of the Midway station and the IOA reluctant to build another, the SGC now has a permanent ZPM to dial Atlantis when required." I tried my best to not sound nervous but I heard my voice crack several times. "In addition, with the Ori eliminated, the ZPM aboard the _Odyssey _has been removed and now powers the Ancient weapons platform in Antarctica." Sheppard was nodding as I continued the story. "As of today, the Atlantis expedition now commands 3 Earth ships: the _Daedalus, _the _Apollo_ and the _Phoenix _as well as the _Horizon_. The D_aedalus _will continue is voyages between galaxies to resupply Atlantis; the _Apollo_ is and will still be a support battle cruiser; the _Phoenix_ will become a permanent military asset for Atlantis and, finally, the _Horizon_ will be used as a passenger transport for refugees but its primary function will be to destroy Wraith hive ships." I exhaled as I finally finished my 'presentation'.

"Well, isn't that something? Maybe the tides are starting to turn in our favour?" John said, smiling. He gave me a quick nudge on the shoulder. "Ronon and I are having an afternoon sparing match so I'll be seeing you around, Colonels." John stood quickly at attention then began to walk briskly down the hall towards the gym. I sighed. I didn't want him to leave.

"So, wanna check on McKay and Zelenka?" Carter asked me. Her voice knocked me out of the calming dream-like state while I was thinking about Sheppard.

"Umm, sure, why not? Maybe we can rustle some feathers and get them to work faster." I said. Carter laughed and we both stepped into the transporter. Carter hit touched the screen and the doors closed. There was a slight humming and a bright flash of light before the doors whooshed open again. We stepped outside the chamber and Carter led the way down a brightly lit corridor. We reached a set of doors where Carter waved her hands at the control panel. The doors opened to reveal the ZPM room. Inside, McKay and Zelenka were arguing over a tablet computer. In the centre of the room was a colonnade with 3 ZPM's raised on it.

"What's wrong guys?" Carter queried as she walked over to the Doctors.

"Well, the operating system of the city is set to uni-nominal power distribution instead of tri-nominal." Zelenka explained to Carter.

"Okay then. Bypass the control interface, recall the tri-nominal data reference and distribute through an anti-conditional update." Carter said, smiling at Zelenka. McKay mouthed 'T_old you so' _at Zelenka while the Czech scientist tapped the tablet. After a few minutes, the tablet beeped in conformation. The 3 ZPM's slowly descended into colonnade before the lights on top of them glowed a solid red. Carter gave Zelenka a high five while McKay grumbled something about doing that in his sleep.

"So, anyone wanna grab some dinner?" McKay asked Carter, Zelenka and I.

"Sure." Carter and Zelenka both agreed and waited for my response. I decided I'd go and see Sheppard and Ronon in the gym. "No thank, guys. I'm going to catch up with Sheppard and Ronon in the gym. Thanks though."

"Okay, then. You know where the gym is?" Carter asked.

"Yup. I've seen the floor plan of the place. See you round guys!" I started to jog out of the room, waving to the group of scientists. I continued jogging up 3 flights of stairs and down a long corridor. All the time I was thinking about the rugged charm of Colonel John Sheppard. I didn't know how long I jogged to reach the gym but it must have been a fair distance to have a light sheen of sweat on my temple. I reached the gym and waved at the console. The door slid open and I walked in. In the centre of the room, on the training mats, were Sheppard and Ronon throwing all they had at each other. Ronon kicked Sheppard's side and John fell to the ground but then he kicked Ronon's feet out from underneath him. He rolled backwards to stand up but then noticed me in the doorway and patted Ronon's shoulder to signal that they were stopping.

"So, Matt, whatcha doin' here?" Sheppard inquired. He wiped his face with a nearby towel and shot a jet of water down his throat with a water bottle.

"I dropped by to see if I could have a god at taking on the legendary Ronon Dex." I snickered back. John made a lot of immature _'Ohhh'_ sounds as Ronon looked over from the edge of the mat.

"You wanna take me on? You sure?" Ronon asked. I nodded confidently and stripped off Atlantis jacket, a standard issue black button underneath. I rolled up the sleeves and rolled my neck. I stood at the ready on the edge of the rubber training mats. Ronon shrugged and dropped his water bottle on the floor. "Just warning you, we might have to take a trip to Keller." He stated cockily.

"That's fine but it won't be me who needs stiches." I retorted. Ronon smirked then lunged his body towards with force and speed I had only ever seen in my Martial Arts mentor. However, I was smaller _and_ faster. I quickly ducked underneath his massive form and quickly laid three sharp kicks to the sides of his torso. He groaned but spun on the spot to attempt a spinning crescent kick. I caught his leg in my arms, grabbed them firmly, turned so my back was towards him and then lifted his huge body over my shoulder. He landed quickly on the ground a made a mousey '_Oww…_' sound. I heard Sheppard laugh at Ronon's misfortune which made me smile.

However, that wasn't the end of the fight. Ronon spun quickly on the ground kicked my legs from beneath, much like what Sheppard had done. He then jumped into the air and tried to force his heel into my chest. I rolled out of the way just as his foot made contact with ground. I then pushed myself off two hands and forcefully kicked Ronon in the head. He stumbled backwards, cradling what seemed like a broken nose. I jumped up as he attacked me with punches, complex hand techniques and flailing kicks from every direction. I dodged and blocked them with relative ease before I decided to end this little sparing match. I grabbed his arm, twisted it 180o then landed a hard kick straight into his abdomen. He fell onto the floor coughing and spluttering. I smiled triumphantly.

"Very _very_ well done. Who knew the new Colonel of the block was a martial arts master?" Sheppard clapped with a huge smile on his face. He held his hand out which I shook without hesitation. He helped Ronon to his feet; I thought the big man would try and attack me again but instead he embraced me in a solid manly hug. He released me after a few seconds. I stood there stunned (looking like an idiot, I might add).

"Great fight. It's hard to find a good sparring partner here. Sheppard and I spar every afternoon. You should come too." He said coolly. He collected his things and waited at the door for both myself and Sheppard.

"You go ahead, Ronon. I wanna talk to Col. Stark for a second." Sheppard waved Ronon onwards who shrugged and left the gym. _'Sheppard, my dream guy…' _Sheppard moved so that we were face to face. After all this time; my mind raced back 6 years to the night after our huge mission in Afghanistan…


End file.
